Look what we have here, everyone. The NFL may finally take a stand to help the college game.

That’s right, the NFL apparently is getting ready to use a college player’s academic standing against him. According to CBS Sports’ Bruce Feldman, the NFL is looking into the possibility of not allowing players who are academically ineligible to participate in the league’s annual Combine.

If players can't participate in the NFL Combine because of grades, just think how much harder they'd try in the classroom. (AP Photo)

While it may seem superficial—the NFL still will find a way to scout players, eligible or not—any move to force college players to follow set standards (see: follow the rules) can only help. Worst-case scenario: the NFL must do more work in scouting players who failed to stay academically eligible.

Best-case scenario: college players stay focused on schoolwork, realize the benefits of schoolwork (and a future degree) and embrace a semblance of self-worth away from the field—even if they leave school early.

Most important: the NFL gets more mature players—and less problem children.

Is it a pipe dream? Probably. But if nothing else is working; if players continue to find trouble and avoid responsibility and still find a way to an NFL roster no matter how many colleges they’ve played for; maybe it’s time to try something different.

Maybe it’s time to raise the bar of expectations instead of burying it to the lowest common denominator. Why not use the one thing that’s critical to a player’s future as motivation?

“More than 95 percent of the players we recruited, their first question was how fast can you get me to the NFL?” said former Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, now special teams coordinator with the Tampa Bay Bucs. “There is nothing that is more important.”

After years of receiving a free farm system from college football, the NFL slowly is beginning to see the merits of working with the college game. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took an unprecedented step a few years ago when he suspended Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor before he ever played a down—because of transgressions (and the penalties he escaped by leaving early) at Ohio State. A potential ban of the NFL Combine—the most important event for college players preparing for the NFL Draft—for academically ineligible players may seem like window dressing, but don’t ignore it.

If the goal is better citizens; if the dream is more Robert Griffins and less Aaron Hernandezes, maybe it’s not such a pipe dream after all.